


The Ghost and the Guard

by TheMetalReaper



Series: The Ghost and the Guard [1]
Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: Gen, Series, fnaf au, fnaf sister location
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-05-24 09:20:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14951918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMetalReaper/pseuds/TheMetalReaper
Summary: Michael and Charlie have known each other since they were children. They always got along well, but after many years, they've become inseparable. So of course, when Michael gets a new job at Circus Baby's Rentals, Charlie comes along as well.Follow their story as they bicker, joke, and bond through the insanity and the hilariousness of working at Circus Baby's Rentals. There'll be laughs, there may even be tears, but most of all, there will beexotic butters.I hope you enjoy The Ghost and the Guard: Night One.





	1. Night One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael and Charlie have known each other since they were children. They always got along well, but after many years, they've become inseparable. So of course, when Michael gets a new job at Circus Baby's Rentals, Charlie comes along as well.  
> Follow their story as they bicker, joke, and bond through the insanity and the hilariousness of working at Circus Baby's Rentals. There'll be laughs, there may even be tears, but most of all, there will be _exotic butters_.  
>  I hope you enjoy Night One of The Ghost and the Guard!

“These animatronics are so creepy, Mike.” Charlie leans in close to get a better look at the poster. “There’s a reason that Circus Baby’s Pizza World was only open for a day.”

Mike smiles at her. 

Charlie turns to face him. “Why’d you even take this job?”

“Well, I need the money. Unlike you spirits, humans need food and water, and money pays for that.” He nudges Charlie, who giggles.

“I mean if you wanna-”

A blaring robotic voice interrupts their jests. “ _Welcome to the first day of your exciting new career!_ ”

Charlie shrieks. She had definitely _not_ expected the robots to speak to them.

“ _Please enter your name as seen above the keypad. This cannot be changed later, so, please be careful._ ” A small yellow tablet slides up from the ground, its screen flickering.

Charlie floats over to it, peering carefully. She pokes at it, but the screen won’t stay still.

Mike steps up to it. He tries to type in his name and grows more frustrated with every letter he types incorrectly.

The screen turns black and slides back into the floor. “ _It seems that you had some trouble with the keypad. I see what you were trying to type, and I will autocorrect it for you. One moment. Welcome Eggs Benedict!_ ”

“ _Eggs Benedict?!_ ” Charlie wheezes, grinning up at Mike. “How the heck do you get “Eggs Benedict” from _Michael?!_ ”

“It’s the stupid computer’s fault,” he grumbled.

The elevator clunks to a stop. “ _You can now open the elevator using that bright, red, and obvious button. Let's get to work!_ ” 

“The vents… why do we have to go through vents?” The spirit takes a step backward as if she’s trying to hide from the gaping hole.

Mike understands Charlie’s fear. If he was stuffed inside a plastic gift box every night, he’d be claustrophobic too. 

He places a hand on her shoulder. “You can stay here if you want.”

“Mike, I’ll be fine.” Charlie smiles up at her friend. “It’s not... it’s not that bad.”

Mike sighs. “Alright. But, if you want to leave... I won’t judge.” 

Charlie gives him a smile as she climbs in. She takes a deep breath and begins crawling. Focusing on Hand Unit's chipper voice takes the edge off of the panic climbing up Charlie’s throat. 

After what feels like hours, the vent ends. Charlie climbs out, gasping for breath. Mike climbs out after her. 

“ _You are now in the primary Control Module; it's actually a crawlspace between the two front showrooms._ ”

Charlie attempts to peer through the windows, but she can’t make out anything in the darkness. She pushes the blue button, and an empty stage is revealed to her.

“Mike… they aren’t there…” Charlie shoots the security guard a worried look. Mike looks around the small room, but the animatronic isn’t there, either.

“Uh oh! It looks like Ballora doesn't feel like dancing. Let's give her some motivation. Press the red button now to administer a controlled shock. Maybe that will put the spring back in her step.”

Mike moves towards the red button, but Charlie pulls him back.

“No! Mike, you and I both know that there’s a child’s spirit trapped in that suit, one that still feels pain and sadness. If you shock that child, you might as well be shocking me!” 

Mike thinks this over, his face falling. “I have to.”

“No, you don’t-”

Mike ignores Charlie’s protests and pushes the red button. As the crackle of electricity echoes in the room, Charlie turns her back on Mike.

“Lee, I’m sorry.” Charlie ignores his apologies. “You know I don’t want to hurt them.”

The spirit turns to face Mike, her smile masking her sadness. “It’s… okay. It’s just… you know how I feel about that stuff.”

Mike nods, glad that his best friend isn’t upset with him. 

“ _Let's motivate Funtime Foxy with a controlled shock._ ” 

Charlie looks at Mike, pleading with him silently. He can’t seem to meet her gaze. She sighs and looks away as Mike pushes the button.

“Great job! In front of you is another vent shaft. Crawl through it to reach the Circus Gallery Control Module.”

Charlie’s eyes widen as she looks at the vent in front of her. “Not again…” She sighs, climbing inside the small vent and crawling through it as quickly as possible.

“Lee…” Mike climbs out of the vent behind her. “I’m sorry, I really am-”

Charlie turns to face him. “I know. I’m not mad.”

“ _On the other side of the glass is Circus Baby's auditorium. Let's check the light and see what Baby is up to._ ”

“Circus Baby…” Mike murmurs, pushing the button. 

“Looks like a few of the lights are out, but we can fix that later. Let's encourage Baby to cheer up with a controlled shock.”

Mike freezes, eyes searching the dark stage behind the window. Charlie moves to stand next to him. They stand in silence together for a moment. Mike manages to shake himself out of his trance, and, with shaking fingers, pushes the button. 

Charlie takes Mike’s hand in hers, knowing that Mike never gets shaken up, much less to this degree. He manages to give Charlie a weak smile.

As Hand Unit bids the two good-bye for the night, the pair silently comfort each other. They get more excited the higher the elevator climbs. Once it reaches the main floor,  
Charlie dashes out to look at the clock.

“We’re just in time!” She yells back down the hallway.

Mike runs past her, hurtling towards the kitchen. “I’ll make the popcorn, you put the channel on!”

Charlie leaps onto the couch, grabs the remote, and turns on the television. She flips through the channels until she finds what she’s looking for.

“Mike!” She shrieks, “Hurry up!”

Mike sprints out of the kitchen, holding a bucket of popcorn. He slides onto the couch just as the television show turns on.

“Another day, another dramatic entry in the lives of Vlad and his distressed mistress! Where will they go? What will they do? All of that and more happening now!”

Mike and Charlie settle in, both reaching for the popcorn as they watch their favorite television drama unfold.

=oOo=

“Will Vlad and his distressed mistress find common ground? Tune in next time!”

Mike yawns as Charlie flips the television off.

Charlie gets up and begins to pull him towards his bedroom. “Mike, it’s late. You have work tomorrow.”

“We have work tomorrow.” Mike gives her a tired grin as he walks towards his room. “There’s no way I’m going there alone.”

Charlie pretends to deliberate. “Hmm… I mean, I guess I don’t have anything else to do… Fine, I’ll come.”

“You really are a huge dork.” Mike closes the door to his room. “G’nite.”

“Night, idiot!” Charlie laughs, floating back to the kitchen.


	2. Night Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another day, another dramatic episode of The Ghost and the Guard! Today, Mike and Charlie come face-to-face with the animatronics, dredging up painful memories for both. I hope you enjoy Night Two of The Ghost and the Guard.

“We’re doing this _again?"_  Charlie sighs as she and Mike step once again into the elevator. It groans for a minute, then begins to descend.

“Lee, you know exactly what I’m going to say.” Mike puts an arm around his friends’ shoulder. “I know you don’t like it here, but—”

_"Welcome back to another night of intellectual stimulation, pivotal career choices, and self-reflection on past mistakes."_

Mike sighs as Hand Unit’s chipper robotic voice cuts him off. Charlie can’t help but laugh at him.

_“Using the keypad below, please select a new companion voice. For male, press 1. For female, press 2. For text only, press 3. For other options, press 4.”_

Mike’s anguish becomes even more visible as the keypad slides up to face him, googly-eyes looking happily into his soul. Charlie is almost in tears now. She pushes in front of the security guard and pushes random buttons. Mike tries to pull her away, but she’s already finished.

_“It seems that you had some trouble with the keypad. I see what you were trying to type, and I will autocorrect it for you. Thank you for choosing Angsty Teen.”_

“Oh my _god_.” Mike pushes his friend to the side. Charlie is laughing so hard, she can’t breathe. “You are _such_ an idiot sometimes, Lee.”

_“The elevator's stopped. You know the routine. Get out now, or whatever. Stay here if you want.”_

Mike lets out a small chuckle at the robot’s now nasally voice. Charlie takes a deep breath, then crawls into the vent.

“I have to say, if there’s one plus to you taking this job,— besides the Hand Unit, of course— these vents may very well get rid of my claustrophobia by Friday.” Charlie sighs as she climbs out the other end. She glares at the control panels, glowing in the dim room.

Mike quickly checks on, then shocks Ballora. Charlie has given up on trying to stop him. For some reason, Mike is determined to keep this job. For what reason, she doesn’t know. But when Mike has his mind set, there’s no stopping him.

Mike pushes the blue button on the right side of the room, trying to get this over with as quickly as possible, for Charlie’s sake.

_“Great... Great... Great…”_

Charlie glances up at the ceiling, confused. “Is it broken?”

_“There seems to have been a problem with the voice synthesizer. Default settings have been restored. Please proceed through the vent ahead of you to Circus Baby's Auditorium.”_

Though it was only for a split second, Charlie saw the pain cross Mike’s face. She didn’t say anything, not wanting to embarrass her friend, but she saw it. What past did Mike have with this... Circus Baby?

Together they crawled through the vent, Charlie keeping close behind Mike. Once again, the friends stare up at the dark stage ahead of them. With shaking fingers, Mike presses the blue button. _The stage is empty._

“Not _again_ ,” Charlie groans. Mike flashes her a small smile as he presses the red button twice.

_“There seems to be a power malfunction that is affecting our ability to properly motivate Baby. Please stand by while I reboot the system. I will be offline momentarily during this process.”_

Charlie takes a step back, almost reflexively hiding behind Mike as the lights flicker, then shut off completely. She blinks faster for a moment, eyes adjusting to the darkness.

The voice of a child floats through the darkness. “I don't recognize you. You are new. I remember this... scenario, however.”

“L-Lizzie?” Mike’s voice trembles with almost fifteen years of pain pouring out all at once. Charlie grabs his hand, almost instinctively knowing that she needs to comfort him.

“It's a strange thing to want to do, to come here.” The voice continues, almost as if she didn’t hear him. “I'm curious what events would lead a person to want to spend their nights in a place like this, willingly.”

With tears running down his face, Mike steps forward to put his hand to the glass. “I… I came here for you, Lizzie. I’m going to fix you.” Charlie remains behind him, slightly crouching in case she needs to protect her friend.

The voice doesn’t waver. “There is a space under the desk; someone before you crafted it into a hiding place, and it worked for him. I recommend that you hurry, though. You will be safe there.”

But Mike doesn’t move. He stays in the same position, eyes searching the dark room for his sister.

“Mike, you have to get down there. Mike!” Charlie pulls at Mike’s arm, but he doesn’t move. “Goddammit, Mike!” With one hand on each shoulder, Charlie manages to wrestle Mike into the hiding space.

“Y-you okay?” Charlie glances over at her friend. The hiding place is barely big enough for one person, much less an awkwardly tall man _and_ a spirit.

Mike gives her a grateful smile. “I… I think so. It’s just, it’s been so long…”

“I know. I know, Mike.” She embraces Mike, trying to ignore the tears still rolling her friend’s face. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll help her. All we have to do is- _what in God’s name is that?!”_ Charlie gawks at the blue robotic eye staring at her.

 _“Don’t make direct eye contact.”_ Mike hisses at her. He grits his teeth as he holds the sliding door shut. Charlie averts her eyes and tries to help him. Together, they manage to keep the door shut until the small robots slither off to places unknown. Mike and Charlie shakily get out from underneath the desk.

“When your guide comes back online, he is going to tell you that he was unsuccessful. That you must restart the system manually. He will then tell you to crawl through Ballora Gallery as fast as you can to reach the breaker room. If you follow his instructions, you will die.” The voice reappears, as does the pain on Mike’s face.

The pain is quickly hidden by determination. “Elizabeth, it’s me. Michael. Your big brother. Can you hear me?”

Apparently not. “When you crawl through Ballora Gallery, go slowly. She cannot see you, and can only listen for your movement.”

Mike sighs, and starts off toward the vent. Charlie follows behind him. “Mike…” She puts a hand on the security guard’s shoulder. He shrugs Charlie off.

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re _obviously_ not.”

“Charlie, she’s why I came here. I have to help her.”

“I don’t think that’s her, Mike. When people are near, especially fellow spirits, I’m usually able to sense them. But when it talks-”

“When _Elizabeth_ talks-”

“I feel nothing. It’s like she’s not even there, Mike.”

“I don’t care. I made her a promise. You can leave if you want, go back to that little _box_ , but I’m staying.”

Charlie turns away, tears in her eyes. After a minute, Mike puts a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry. That was mean.”

“It was.”

“Charlie-”

“I’m staying, idiot. You couldn’t get me to leave even if you tried.”

“Thanks.”

_“Thank you for your patience. It seems like the power system cannot be restarted automatically. You will need to restart the power system manually. Please return to the primary control module.”_

Charlie chuckles to herself. “I almost missed his stupid voice.”

“I say we bring him home at the end of the week.” Mike joins in her jests, “He can control the lights for us.”

“Sounds absolutely perfect.” Mike and Charlie enter Ballora’s Gallery.

Charlie sucks in a breath. “Someone’s here. And they’re… they’re… angry. They’ve been betrayed.” She whispers.

Mike chuckles, “So, it would be best not to cross her?”

“Definitely.”

Moving slowly, Mike begins to make his way across the room. Suddenly, Charlie pulls on his arm, trying to stop him.

_“She’s right there.”_

And, true to her words, Ballora’s music is practically deafening. Mike sees her silhouette pass by the door, and, before long, both the animatronic and her music have faded into the background. Charlie and Mike dash out of the room.

Behind the door is a dark, small room with a control panel in the center. The walls are covered ceiling to floor in wires.

_“You may now interface with the breaker control box. Using the interface may disrupt nearby electronics. If you feel that you are in danger, feel free to disconnect the interface temporarily, until it is safe to reconnect.”_

Mike sets to work, resetting each breaker one-by-one. Charlie, however, is focused on something nearly invisible to him.

“Mike… there’s one of _them_ in here…”

Mike waves his hand at her, eyes still facing the console. “I dunno, distract it or something. Calm it down.”

Charlie huffs, then turns to the animatronic. Both he and his little blue hand puppet seem to be staring _directly at her_. “I, uh…” The spirit tries to remember her endless days trapped inside of the Marionette, and speaks sweetly to the white and pink Freddy lookalike. “Everything is okay, let’s go back to sleep!”

Though the animatronic didn’t move, Charlie could’ve sworn that it seemed to calm right down. Maybe this place really was driving her crazy.

“I’m almost halfway done.” Mike says with a proud smile. “You should probably calm it down again.”

Charlie takes a deep breath, then turns to the bear. “You must be hearing things, silly.” She can’t help but let out a nervous giggle. It almost reminds her of the old days at the restaurant, comforting the other souls. It was funny, though she gave out so much kindness and support to the other children, she always felt so alone, curled up, trapped inside the cramped gift box-

“Done.” Mike taps the console one last time, then turns to the spirit. “Let’s go home, Lee.”

Charlie smiles at her friend, glad to have him. Together, they make it through Ballora’s Gallery, and stand in the elevator together in silence.

“Today was a rough day. For both of us.” Mike gives a weak smile to Charlie.

Charlie lights up. “But you know what’ll cheer us up?”

“Some Clara and Vlad!” Mike nudges her. “Last one to the couch has to make popcorn!”

“Oh, you’re so on.”

The minute the elevator doors opens, both friends dash out. By a nose, Charlie makes it to the couch first. She lays across it, leaving no room for Mike to sit.

“You’d better hurry up,” Charlie says with a grin, “The show’s gonna be starting in about… three minutes.”

With a joking sigh, Mike waltzes off to the kitchen and makes popcorn in record time.

“10, 9, 8…” Charlie begins counting from the couch. “7, 6…”

Mike quickly dumps the popcorn into a bowl and runs into the living room. He hops on the couch, and Charlie turns on the TV.

“As the sun sets, so also does another chapter in the saga of love lust between Vlad and his distressed mistress. Can they be reconciled? Can their love rise again? That, and more, happening now!” Mike and Charlie curl up on the couch together, and settle in to watch their favorite show.


	3. Night Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And with that, we're officially over halfway through The Ghost and The Guard! I just want to quickly thank everyone for their support. I really appreciate it! :D  
> (I have to say, this is my favorite chapter yet) Anyway, I hope you enjoy Night Three of The Ghost and The Guard!

_ “ Welcome back to another pivotal night of your thriving new career, where you get to really ask yourself; what am I really doing with my life? What would my friends say? And, most importantly, Will I ever see my family again?” _

Mike laughs dryly. 

“Mike, don’t be mean.” Charlie nudges him, and the security guard rolls his eyes. “He might have feelings, too.”

_ “ _To help you reach a more stable and relaxing frame of mind, we offer several musical selections to help make this elevator ride as relaxing and therapeutic as possible. We_ offer contemporary jazz, classical, rain forest ambiance, as well as a wide selection of other choices. Using the keypad below, please type the first few letters of the musical selection you would prefer.” _

_ “ _ I doubt it,” Mike grumbles as the googly-eyed keyboard once again looks him in the face. Charlie gently pushes him to the side, attempting to type something in. 

_ “ It seems you had some trouble with the keypad. I see what you were trying to type, and I will autocorrect it for you. Thank you for selecting Casual Bongos. ”  _

Charlie giggles as the music begins to play. Mike rolls his eyes, but even he can’t stop himself from smiling. 

As Hand Unit guides the pair towards the Parts and Service room, Mike sighs. This place is absolutely awful, for both Charlie and him, but yet they keep coming back. He knows that the only reason Charlie came was to help him, so that leaves him with only one question. Why did  he keep coming back?

Was it for Lizzie? It had already been established that she couldn’t hear him. That she was probably already gone. 

_ Michael, I need you to promise me something.  _

_ What? _

_ You have to put them back together. Both of them.  _

_ But- _

_ You know we’re both to blame. You helped kill Jonah, and I- my creation killed Elizabeth. I’ve done my best to help, but it’s no use. I need you, Michael. You  _ need _ to put them back together. Promise me.  _

_ I… I promise.  _

Was that it? The promise that a grieving teenager had made to his psychopath father? Insane. Mike knew that that wasn’t it, that  _ couldn’t  _ be it. 

And yet, he also knew that it was the reason he kept coming back, the reason he put both him and his best friend in mortal danger every night. No matter how psychotic his father was, no matter how much Mike hated him, some deep, childlike part of Mike still wanted his father to be proud of him. 

“Mike?” Charlie’s worried face interrupted his train of thought. “You… you okay?”

Mike nodded. He couldn’t bring himself to words yet. He was still too busy trying to sort through the mental hurricane he had just created. 

“C’mon, we gotta go through the Funtime Auditorium.” Charlie takes Mike’s hand and begins leading him through the vent. Mike knew that she was treating him like one of the broken spirits,  _ like she had treated Jonah after he died.  _ But Mike didn’t care. Honestly, he was just happy that he had at least one positive constant in his life. 

Charlie was worried about Mike. Of course, she was  _ always  _ worried about him, but this time was the worst. She had never seen her best friend so… scared. 

With Charlie being able to see in the dark, it was easy to lead Mike through Funtime Auditorium. A few turns, a little tiptoeing around a seven-foot animatronic fox, and they were set. However, once they got the Parts and Service Room, a different predicament emerged. 

“Mike, I need you present.” Charlie nudged him. 

“What’s up?”

“Hand Unit said that we need to fix this guy.” Charlie waved her hand in the direction of Funtime Freddy. “I need your mechanical expertise.”

“Well, your dad made the animatronics.”

“So did yours.”

“Well, Henry built most of them.”  _ Not to mention, he wasn’t a child murderer.  _

Charlie sighs. “Fine. I need your hands, though.”

“Okay, okay.” 

_ “ Locate the small button on Freddy's face, just under his right cheek, and press it. ” _

Mike squints at the sleeping robot, searching for the button. He manages to find it and pushes it.

_ “ Great! Now carefully locate and press the button next just above Freddy's nose. ” _

As he presses the button, Mike jumps back to avoid being hit by the quickly opening faceplates. Charlie takes a glance at the exposed wires inside the bear. 

Before Hand Unit can respond, Charlie instructs her friend to press a button underneath the endoskeleton’s jaw. With a confused look, Mike finds the button. 

“How’d you know that was there?” He asks the spirit. Charlie’s too busy inspecting the chest of the endoskeleton to respond. 

_ “ Excellent. The chest cavity should now be open. Remove the power module from the chest cavity. ” _

Mike looks to Charlie, expecting her to point out the battery, but she was too busy poking at something. 

“Lee?”

“Yeah?”

“Where’s the battery?”

“I… it’s probably this thing over here.” She points to a small disc with a blinking red light on it. “Which is… it’s just a weird place to put a battery.”

Mike pulls it off. “I’m not the right person to ask. I don’t know the first thing about these murder ‘bots.”

_ “ Press the large, black button beneath Bonnie's bow tie to release the power module. ” _

Mike looks to where the hand puppet was before, but it wasn’t there. 

“Mike…” Charlie trails off, staring at something over his shoulder.

The guard keeps his eyes trained on Funtime Freddy’s chest. “It’s over there, isn’t it.”

“Yeah.”

Without looking, Mike grabs at the small animatronic. He presses the black button, and a small disc similar to the battery clatters to the floor. Charlie’s applause rings through the empty room. 

_"Good job. This completes your tasks for the night. Please exit the building through Funtime Auditorium, and we'll see you back here again tomorrow."_

“I mean, we got through it before without any hiccups.” Charlie remarks as Mike pushes the door open. “Why should now be any different?”

Mike glances into the dark room ahead and begins to walk inside. After a minute, Charlie holds an arm out to block him.

_ “It sees you.” _ Charlie murmurs. Mike blinks at her, worried.  _ “It’s not moving.” _ The spirit sucks in a breath as the animatronic fox steps closer and closer to her closest friend, a fanged grin across its face.

Charlie tugs on Mike’s arm, trying to steer him away from the danger. Mike, blinded by the darkness, stumbles through the room, drawing the pink-and-white fox closer. Charlie watches with horror as it leaps at the security guard, wrapping its claws around him and pulling him away into the darkness.


	4. Night Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sparks are flying here at Circus Baby's Rentals! Watch as Charlie helps Mike escape from the cold grasp of a springlock suit, and painful moments in their shared past are dredged up again.  
> I hope you enjoy Night Four of The Ghost and The Guard.

_ Ugh. What… what happened? _ Mike’s head throbs as he blinks himself awake.  _ I… don’t remember going home last night…  _

“Mike? Mike, oh my god!” Charlie screams, practically tackling Mike in a hug. “I thought… I thought you had…” Charlie sinks to the floor, sobbing into her hands. “...I thought it killed you…”

Mike tries to comfort his friend, but…

“Lee…” Charlie looks up at Mike. “I can’t move my arms.”

The spirit gives him a weak smile. “That’s because-”

“The cameras are searching for you. But they couldn't find you. I have you hidden too well. I kidnapped you. Don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you. I am only going to keep you for a little while.” The animatronic’s voice is almost energetic as it floats through the darkness. 

Charlie glares up at it, tears still spilling out of her eyes. “You  _ bit- _ ”

_ “Charlie!” _

“She  _ kidnapped _ you, Mike. When are you gonna stop defending her?”

“I’ll never stop defending my  _ sister. _ ”

“What if she kills you, Mike?”

“She wouldn’t.”

“What  _ else _ could this be leading up to?”

“Literally  _ anything  _ else.”

The room is dead silent for a moment as the two friends glare at each other. 

“You're inside something that came from my old pizzeria. I don't think it was ever used - at least, not the way it was ever meant to be used. Too dangerous. It's just big enough for one person to fit inside. But just barely.” She continues, unaware of their argument. 

“I was friends with her too, remember?” Charlie tries to continue the conversation. Mike doesn’t meet her pleading scare. “I… I just wanna keep you safe. It’s just… I can’t lose anyone else.” Her voice cracks, and Charlie looks away. 

“Uh-oh. It sounds like someone else is in the building. Shh!”

Mike and Charlie look up at the silhouettes of the two technicians. 

“Just seems like these things can't go a day without breaking down. Who knows, it's always the same. Some kind of hardware malfunction.”

“Well, I have to be somewhere in, like, 15 minutes. This place gives me the creeps. Can we just get this over with? It's all automated, we don't have to be here for it. Just get it on the rollers and we can go.”

Charlie winces as the machine scoops Ballora. She knows that they kidnapped her best friend, but she also knows that, at some level, these animatronics are just like her. Kids, scared and betrayed, who just want to be cared for. Like they should’ve been. 

“Lee…” Mike starts, “I’m sorry. I’m just… I want to hope for the best.”

Charlie smiles at him. “And that’s okay. I just want to be careful. And… I’m sorry too.”

The two smile at each other. 

“I'll open the face plates for you. That way, they can find you on the cameras. Now, all you have to do is wait. I'd recommend that you keep the springlocks wound up. Your breathing and your heartbeat are causing them to come loose. You don't want them to get too loose. Trust me.” Baby’s voice fades into the darkness, leaving the friends alone. 

“Springlocks?” Mike begins to panic. “W-what do you mean, springlocks?!”

Charlie holds her hands out, trying to calm the guard. “It’s okay. People have survived springlocks before. You just need to be calm. Control your breathing.” She picks up a hand crank that was on the floor and begins winding a few of the springs. “This may help a little.”

“What the  _ hell _ are those?!” Mike shrieks at the Minireenas climbing into his suit. 

Charlie continues to wind the springs. “Just… ignore them. They probably won’t hurt you.”

_ “Suuuuuuure.”  _ Mike tries to normalize his breathing and think about something other than  _ the tiny animatronics crawling into his suit.  _

After flattening all of the springs, Charlie tears the helmet off of her friend, revealing Mike’s terrified face. 

“Hey, it’s alright.” Charlie says soothingly, “I’m getting it off.”

Mike tries to focus on her voice, hoping it would take an edge off the wave of panic that’s washing over him. 

“I… this is how he died. I don’t wanna die like him, Lee.”

Mike’s words hit the spirit like a bullet. 

“You… you know about that?”

“Scott told me.”

“O-oh.”

“Wait. How do  _ you _ know about that?”

“I… was there.”

“What?”

“You didn’t think it was an accident, do you?”

Mike pauses for a moment, processing this. Charlie pulls off the left arm of the suit. 

“How did it happen?” The guard stares at Charlie. She looks away for a moment, then meets his gaze. 

“He was in the safe room, doing…  _ god _ knows what. Gabe, Jeremy, Suzy, Fritz and I went through the doorway. When he saw us, there was so much fear in his eyes… it was like  _ he _ was being murdered. He leapt right into that suit, but… it was wet. I don’t think he realized it until the springlocks were already five inches under his skin.”

Mike looks away. In silence, Charlie pulls the right arm off of the springlock suit. 

The spirit sighs. “I… I’m so-”

“Don’t be. He deserved it.” Mike looks at her, steel in his eyes. “He deserved every  _ bit  _ of it.”

Charlie smiles shakily at him as she pulls the torso off of the guard. “I think you can try to climb out now.”

“A-alright.” Very,  _ very _ slowly, Mike pulls one leg, then the other out of the suit. He falls forward, much to Charlie’s surprise. After a minute, Mike shakily gets up. 

Charlie beams as the two step into the elevator. “We… did it. We did it!”

“We did.” Mike smiles back, “And now it’s time for the Immortal and the Restless!”

“I hate to say it, but if there was an episode on last night, I would’ve watched it without you.”

“How  _ dare _ you.”

“Hey, it’s the truth.”

The elevator groans to a stop. Once the door slides open, the pair dash out, running towards the television. Mike takes a detour through the kitchen, making popcorn as he goes. Charlie hops on the couch and flips to the correct channel. After a minute, Mike sits down next to her, holding a bucket of popcorn. 

“As the moon rises, so also rises the tension between scorn lovers.”

“Clara, it's not my baby!” Mike cries, in unison with the character on screen. 

Charlie joins in. “Vlad, you suck.” 

Together, the friends recite the episode line by line, both laughing at how geeky they sound.

“How will it all end? The passion, the tension, the intrigue! Tune in tomorrow for the exciting conclusion.” Charlie shuts off the television. 

Mike begins to go to his bedroom, but turns to Charlie. “Lee?”

“Mm?”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For saving my life, genius.”

“Oh. I, uh, you would’ve done the same for me.”

“I had my chance already.”

_ “Mike.” _

“What? You died right in front of me, at  _ my _ birthday party, and I didn’t do a damn thing.”

“It’s not your fault. You were just a kid. We both were.”

“Yeah, and I killed Jonah not even two years after that. For a  _ kid _ , I sure did hurt a lot of people.”

“But, I mean, we’re all to blame. If I had reprogrammed more games, or made their secrets easier to find, someone would’ve caught that psychopath before he killed more people.”

“Lee, you were  _ dead _ .”

“And you were only eleven years old.”

Mike sighs. “Fine. We’re all to blame.”

“Thank you.” Charlie smiles up at him. “G’nite, Mike.”

“’Night.” 


	5. Night Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy the chilling finale of The Ghost and The Guard! It's been quite a ride, friends! Thanks for all of your support!

_“Welcome back to your last day on the job. That is, the last day of your first week.”_

Charlie bounces around the small space, much to the amusement of her friend.

“What in the world are you doing?” Mike laughs.

Charlie shoots him a grin from the top of the elevator. “Today’s the last day! We’re getting out of here!”

Mike smiles up at her. He does understand her excitement. Though he didn’t show it the same way Charlie did, Mike was very happy to be leaving. It had been a hard week, and he was glad to put it behind him.

_“You've earned your one week bonus which will be given to you in the form of a delightful gift basket, the cost of which will be taken out of your next paycheck. We have gift baskets containing fruit, nuts, flowers, and of course, the ever-popular cash basket. Using the keypad below, please enter the first few letters of the gift basket you would like to receive.”_

“Please, keyboard, work for _once_.” Mike groaned, stepping forward to type on the flickering display. “I need that cash basket. Maintaining haunted robots doesn’t exactly break the bank.”

_“It seems you had some trouble with the keypad. I see what you were trying to type, and I will autocorrect it for you. Thank you for selecting Exotic Butters.”_

Mike sighs.

“What more did you expect?” Charlie laughs, “At least our popcorn will taste _exotic_ tonight.”

_“Please be aware that there are still two technicians on site today.”_

Charlie looks off thoughtfully. “Other people? That’ll be interesting.”

The door slides open and Charlie and Mike go into the room ahead. It’s funny, Charlie barely even notices how constraining the vents are. When they reach the main room, it’s empty.

“Where are the technicians?” Charlie asks. Mike shrugs, then presses the button to see Ballora’s Gallery.

Charlie’s heart drops to her stomach. In the center of Ballora’s stage is the hanging corpse of one of the technicians.   _We have to get out of here_.

“N-no…” Mike stumbles away from the window. “They… they wouldn’t do this…”

The other button revealed their worst fear. The other technician was hanging over the stage of Funtime Auditorium.

_“Circus Baby had a rough day, and is in need of repair. You will be required to reach the Parts & Service room by once again sneaking through Funtime Auditorium. As always, please proceed with caution.” _

As quickly as they can manage, Mike and Charlie sneak through the auditorium. A deep sense of dread hangs over the two friends.

Inside the Parts and Service room sits Circus Baby, slumped over in the center of the room. Mike and Charlie stare at it, confused.

_“Great job reaching Parts and Service. Circus Baby has been deactivated for an unknown reason. It's your job to make sure she's structurally stable and secured to the conveyor. Our technicians will take it from ther-”_

“Can you hear me?” The voice of a child, quiet with fear, emerges from the deactivated animatronic. “The cameras are watching. I must be careful not to move. Something bad happened yesterday. Something bad _always_ happens. I don't want it to happen again. There is something bad... inside of me. I'm broken. I can't be fixed.”

Mike’s eyes fill with tears. “She’s… she’s still in there.” A broad grin crosses his face. “My Lizzie…”

Charlie smiles. She’s glad that at least some portion of Elizabeth is still there, for Mike’s sake. But still, something about her seemed… off. Charlie didn’t want to start another fight by telling Mike, but… she’d be keeping an eye on “Elizabeth”.

“I'm going to be taken to the scooping room soon, but it's not going to fix what's wrong with me. What is bad is always left behind. Will you help me? I want you to save what is good, so the rest can be destroyed and never recovered.”

“We’re going to help you, Lizzie. We’re going to put you back together.” Mike beams. Charlie smiles at him, but internally, she feels her heart sinking. _She’s lying._

“But you must be careful. Ballora is here. In the room, with us. Ballora will not return to her stage. Ballora will not return to her body. You must be careful. You must remain calm, and listen to my voice.”

Mike turns to his friend. “She’s okay. Lee, she’s still here! We… we can save her.”

“Mike…” The spirit starts. But she sees how fragile the guard is right now, how hopeful and happy he is, and Charlie chooses to just agree. “We’re going to save her.”

Mike wraps Charlie in a bear hug, something he hasn’t done since they were kids.

“There is a passcode that you must enter before you can retrieve me.” Elizabeth’s voice instructs them. “Enter the code carefully. 1, 2, 9, 0, 8, 1, 7, 8, 5, 3.”

Mike pushes the buttons on the small keypad in order.

“Good. A hatch should have opened. Take the card that you find inside.”

The guard takes the small green card.

“Now you must turn back. I will guide you through Funtime Auditorium so you can reach the scooping room. When you are there, I want you to destroy this body. Put the card into your handheld device, and I can continue to speak to you.”

Carefully, Mike places the green card into his walkie-talkie and walks out of the room. Charlie trails behind him. _She’s lying._

“You must follow my instructions in Funtime Auditorium. Ballora is going to follow you. She will try to catch you. I will help you avoid her.”

Mike follows her instructions to a T. The farther they walk, the more nervous Charlie gets. _She’s lying._ Soon, she just can’t take it anymore.

“Mike?” Charlie whispers, “I… I’m getting kind of nervous…”

“Why?”

“What if… what if it’s not Elizabeth?”

“Who else would it be?”

“I dunno, it’s just…” _She’s lying._

“I get it, Lee. I know you’re cautious. But you don’t have to be. I know it’s her. I’m _certain._ ”

“O-okay.”

Charlie swallows her retorts and walks quietly behind her friend.

“She is right in front of you. Don't move.” True to her words, Ballora looms barely two feet in front of the pair.

“He is here to help, Ballora. He is not here to hurt us. Ballora, he is here to help us…” Charlie holds her breath, preparing for Ballora’s attack, but it doesn’t come. Instead, the seven foot tall ballerina turns and walks away.

“Go forward again. Ballora is behind you. She is afraid of the scooping room; she will not follow you.” Mike and Charlie enter the room.

_“Warning: You've entered a highly dangerous area. You have entered from Maintenance Hatch 1B, reserved for cleaning and repair of the scooper. Entering this side of the room is strictly prohibited by unauthorized persone-”_

“You are in the scooping room now. Funtime Foxy has already been here today. Funtime Freddy has already been here today. Ballora has already been here today. Circus Baby has already been here today.”

Charlie pulls on Mike’s hand, trying to bring him out of the room. “We have to get out of here.” But Mike doesn’t move. “ _Mike._ ” He stands, transfixed, staring into the darkness at a figure in the window. _“Michael.”_

“I've been out before, but they always put me back. They always put us back inside. There's nowhere for us to hide here. There is nowhere to go... when we look like this. But, if we looked like you, then we could hide. If we looked like you, then we would have somewhere to go.”

 _“No!”_ Charlie screams, staring at the figure, tearing at Mike’s arm. He still doesn’t move, doesn’t even acknowledge the spirit’s screams.

“The scooper only hurts for a moment.”

 _“Please,”_ Charlie sobs, pushing between the scooper and her friend. _“please_ don’t hurt him. We can help you. We can bring you to freedom. I understand what it’s like to be trapped somewhere. Trust me, I do. Just… you _can’t_ hurt him.”

The spirit’s cries are ignored. The scooper reaches forward and rakes across Mike, rendering him unconscious. Charlie falls to her knees over her friends body, sobbing.

The figure emerges from the window, revealing a one-eyed endoskeleton with half of a clown mask covering its face. It walks over to Charlie, eye staring unforgivingly.

Charlie glares back, still sobbing. “We could’ve helped you. You didn’t have to do this.”

“It was the only way.” It says, robotic voice so unlike the cheerful voice of Hand Unit.

“No, _it wasn’t._ ” Charlie cries. “I know what it’s like, to be killed so young, then trapped for so long. But we didn’t _kill_ someone to escape.”

The endoskeleton walks towards Charlie and Mike and picks up Mike’s body. It walks away, followed closely by Charlie.

“Y’know, you’re just as much of a monster as the one who killed us.”

The endoskeleton barely spares her an unforgiving glance. “Maybe, but we have a chance to live a normal life. Could you say the same?”

 

-oOo-

 

Charlie lays a ghostly hand on the guard’s forehead. It’s cold. Too cold.

It had been several hours since Charlie had laid her friend on the small cot. If he had any chance of recuperating naturally, he would be somewhat alive by now. But his heart was still cold, he wasn’t breathing, he even _looked_ dead.

Charlie’s only option, it seemed, was to bring him in to the hospital. But how was a _ghost_ supposed to bring someone to the hospital?

The guard begins to stir, eyes opening smoothly and slowly. He sits up, barely even noticing Charlie.

“Mike,” She asks, “are you okay?”

But he doesn’t respond. Instead, he simply stares at the spirit. Charlie gasps. Her friend’s once cool-blue eyes are now bright, piercing purple. 

He stumbles over to the adjacent bathroom and stands in front of the vanity. In one smooth movement, he looks himself in the mirror, a dead smile spreading across his face. Mike, no, the _thing_ lets out a bone-chilling cackle.


	6. Epilouge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As requested (even though it is a day late): the final chapter to this part of The Ghost and the Guard! Hope you enjoy!

Charlie’s been following the monster for a week now. Every day, it followed the same routine. And every day, people greeted it.

“Hey, Michael!” They smiled, “It’s so good to see you!” And every day, he smiled back at them.

Every day, Charlie missed her best friend. Every moment she glanced at the thing, wearing Mike’s skin like a _suit_ , she wanted to cry. And she had, for a while. Now, she let her sadness harden into resolve. Charlie _would_ find a way to save him, somehow. But for now, Charlie simply followed it around all day, loathing every minute of it. There were some days where she’d rather be back in the _box_ then following the thing.

But today, something was off. Charlie had noticed that the creature’s skin had been… rotting over the past few days. She wasn’t the only one who noticed, either. More and more people had caught on. Today, once everyone had gotten a glimpse of the thing, they had locked themselves and their children inside their homes.

In their defense, it wasn’t that hard to tell that something was off. The thing’s skin was almost violet, with an unholy glow in its eyes. Not to mention, it hadn’t even been able to put on a shirt this morning.

The creature stumbles through the streets, followed closely by Charlie. About halfway down the road, it stumbles and begins to convulse. It falls to the ground, and the endoskeleton launches itself out of the body and into the sewer.

Charlie runs to him, because deflated and rotted as he is, it’s still _Mike_. He’s collapsed on the sidewalk as dead as he was a week ago.

“N-no,” Charlie cries, kneeling next to the guard, “you can’t die. You _won’t_ die.”

Michael gasps, coming to life right before the spirit’s eyes. “Lee?” He asks weakly.

“Mike! Oh my god, you’re _alive_.” Charlie beams.

Michael groans as he sits up. “W-what happened?” He looks down at his hands. “Why… why do I look like this? Where _are_ we?”

Charlie helps her friend up. “Just… take it easy. It’s okay. We’re just gonna get you cleaned up.”

Charlie and Michael begin to walk towards their house.

“It’s… _weird_ , Lee. I don’t feel like myself. In fact, I don’t… feel anything.”

“I dunno, Mike. I mean, you _were_ scooped.”

“I was _what?”_

“I’ll explain everything later, I promise.”

“You better.”


End file.
